Hi All,
I'm going to be smoking two whole ducks tomorrow for a friend (and a chicken for me) and I have to say I've never done anything like this before and am a bit confused. I've read as much as I could on the forum, and seen different techniques and experiences...to brine or not to brine? Wood selection? Internal Temp controversy - and even whether or not to FTC? Rub selection?
The other complication is that I plan to smoke them tomorrow (Saturday), but he won't be picking it up until Sunday at the earliest, and won't be eating it until probably Monday or Tuesday with the boys at the hunt camp.
So what I'm really asking is does anyone have a "fail safe" method for smoking whole wild ducks that they'd be kind enough to share for me - from start to end process? I don't want to let the boys down, especially since I usually hunt with them and I'd never hear the end of it!
Thanks!
Mark (in Ottawa, Canada)
Hi Mark,
I have never attempted smoking a duck yet but I have been reading up on it since I want to smoke some wild ducks, too.
This link has appeared on the forum before and seems like a pretty good technique:
http://honest-food.net/2011/12/27/how-to-make-smoked-duck/
Also, I sure some folks with duck smoking experience with chime in, too.
Carolyn
Thanks for the link, Caroline.
I have the ducks (and my chicken) in two seperate containers with brine (1/2c kosher salt; 1/2c brown sugar; 4 liters water). I'll brine them for about 6-8 hours and then smoke them. I'll set the smoker at 220f and keep it in there until the IT reaches 150, then into a 500f oven for 5-10 mins to crisp up the skin.
I'll let y'all know how it works out.
Mark (in Ottawa)
Well, quickly realized that it is going to be too cold to smoke this outside, and it was raining. So off to Home Depot, bought insulation and ducting, like I saw here on the forum. With it all together now I'm smoking in the garage and set for the winter. Thanks guys!
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/11/04/rasenyba.jpg)
Looks good.
Have you got a fan on the end of that duct? If not you may get smoke backing up in the smoker and coming out of the smoke generator which is not good for it.
Ditto. And I like what you did.
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The birds getting ready for the smoker.(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/11/04/ja7yvy9a.jpg)
Hi JZ. No fan at the end, but there's always a good breeze around here to create a draw. I'll keep an eye on it though, thanks for the heads up!
Minor modification, I was backdrafting. This seems a to have fixed it for now.(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/11/04/hyzunage.jpg)
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We'll be waiting for pictures :)
Carolyn
Quote from: mikecorn.1 on November 03, 2012, 12:27:14 PM
Ditto. And I like what you did.
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What kind of fan do you use? I'd be interested to make a modification to my current setup...
Mark (in Ottawa)
Quote from: Mark in Ottawa on November 03, 2012, 01:48:34 PM
Quote from: mikecorn.1 on November 03, 2012, 12:27:14 PM
Ditto. And I like what you did.
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What kind of fan do you use? I'd be interested to make a modification to my current setup...
Mark (in Ottawa)
I myself don't have the set up. But other members talk about placing some type of inline fan. I want to say something like a bathroom vent fan.
Start a thread asking that question and I guarantee you will get answers and maybe pics of setups. It's kinda lost in this thread.
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Finished duck. (http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/11/04/he9atyra.jpg)
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Finished chicken. (http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/11/04/2uqe4ehe.jpg)
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The look great!
Did you get to do a taste test yet?
Carolyn
We had the chicken which was so tasty...3 hours of applewood smoke produced a lovely (but not overpowering) smokey taste. And the 10 minutes in the 500f oven made the skin beautifully golden and crisp.
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Looks GREAT Mark! :)
I know the Yard Bird was Tasty ;) .... I am Very interested to see how the Ducks ended up being :P
Yard bird turned out looking good!
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What did you think about your ducks? I tried to smoke a couple recently and I was less than impressed with my final product. I'm curious to know how yours turned out. :-\